RT by @mikenov: RT by @mikenov: Iran has deployed special forces along Iran’s Persian Gulf coast to identify vessels using the Oman-side route through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran International. There are three routes through the Hormuz Strait: – the southern route near Omani waters. – the middle route used before the war. – the northern route under Iranian control. The middle route was closed after Iran mined it at the start of the war. After the Omani route was opened a few weeks ago, Iran started attacking vessels using it, demanding that all traffic go through its own route. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Islamic Republic’s negotiating team, said in Oman on June 23

Iran has deployed special forces along Iran’s Persian Gulf coast to identify vessels using the Oman-side route through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran International.

There are three routes through the Hormuz Strait:

– the southern route near Omani waters.
– the middle route used before the war.
– the northern route under Iranian control.

The middle route was closed after Iran mined it at the start of the war. After the Omani route was opened a few weeks ago, Iran started attacking vessels using it, demanding that all traffic go through its own route.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Islamic Republic’s negotiating team, said in Oman on June 23 that management of the Strait of Hormuz would not return to the pre-war situation and that Tehran plans charging vessels a “service fee.”

Other Iranian officials have stated that Iran and Oman have joint sovereignty over the Strait and that they will begin joint toll collection after the 60-day deadline set in the MOU with the U.S. expires.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Iran is misusing, abusing and trying to expand Article 5 of the MOU against the United States.

In essence, Article 5 says Iran will make its best efforts to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels during the 60 days the MOU is in place without charging transit fees while removing military and technical obstacles (including naval mines), and engaging in future dialogue with Oman and regional states regarding the management of the Strait.

The key phrase in Article 5 is: “Iran will make arrangements.”

Tehran is now interpreting this language to argue that vessels not complying with its own “transit arrangements” are effectively violating the agreement and frames its attacks or interference against those ships as “enforcement of safety arrangements” or “responses to violations of navigation protocols,” even labeling some vessels as “unauthorized transit targets.”

In practice, this amounts to shifting responsibility onto the United States and portraying Washington as the party undermining the agreement by encouraging vessels to take the Omani route through the Strait.

This follows a familiar Iranian negotiating pattern: exploiting ambiguous language, stretching interpretations to their maximum extent and using calibrated coercion to create new facts on the ground while avoiding an explicit breach of the agreement.

In business, contracts are generally negotiated in good faith, with both parties seeking a mutually beneficial outcome. That is fundamentally different from the negotiating approach used by Iran.

Critics fear that Iran is likely to use the same approach to any future nuclear agreement. It’s believed that Tehran will use legal ambiguity to gradually expand its room for maneuver while remaining formally within the text.

In the end, Iran will do whatever it takes to retain its highly enriched Uranium, acquire more and continue the path toward nuclear weapons with complete delivery systems. Not sticking to the spirit of an agreement will be the least of their concerns.

— @visegrad24 Jul 3, 2026